Chapter Text
People say staying awake over 20 hours is bad. Apparently, according to Google, 18 hours is where you start feeling slow. Do you know what’s actually bad? Being so focused on trying to find leads to the Russian mafia or Cobblepot that when your biology teacher asks which element on the is the number 29 and you answer confidently “The Penguin!”, as the great genius you are. If friendships are the base of your childhood and the things that make you feel safe in school, he is sure he has none when Ives bursts out laughing out loud. Maturely, he sticks his tongue out at Ives.
Anyway, now, Tim is at his 27 hour awake. He needs an energy drink or a Zesti Cola. A Zesti, definitely. He drinks it more than he drinks water, actually. Maybe that’s worrying, but since he left the boarding school, he has no obligation to go on medical evaluations. Which is extremely handy, since he’s… half spider. A quarter spider, perhaps.
He is trying so, so hard to focus on his social life and in the case at the same time that he’s almost sure his teacher is part of the Russian mafia. Maybe he’s going insane, maybe Mr. Midwest Emo’s — caring nickname. Tim never bothered to learn his name — is a mafioso and ready to kill him. He’s going to investigate that… Later. During the lunch break. When his body decides it’s time to be awake again.
Tim ends up waking up with Jason’s fingers snapping on his face. “Yo, Timbo, wakey, wakey.”
”What…?” Tim lifts his head a bit, finding his classroom empty. Even Ives is gone. Probably gone with Callie. He rubs his eyes. “Is it lunch break yet?”
”Yeah, it’s lunch break. What, is your nanny not enforcing your bedtime?” Jason asks, Tim very promptly rolls his eyes.
”Mrs. Mac isn’t my caretaker, she doesn’t stay overnight.” He mumbles, sleepy. Not considering he shouldn’t tell Robin that he stays alone at night. In Gotham. He can see Jason’s face changing immediately and winces internally.
”Then who stays with you? Because your parents don’t.”
”I’m a big boy, Jason, thanks.” Tim says, organizing his stuff and getting up lazily.
”Uh-huh, sir ‘I use Crest Kids as a toothpaste because it’s better’.”
”It is better!”
Jason only pats Tim’s back, consoling his unreal vision of the world. Look, he’s not the paragon of maturity or adulthood (he’s 5ft), but he’s not a damsel in distress. He can take care of himself, thank you very much. As Tim regains his consciousness after his very deserved nap, he realizes that Jason being here actually screws his plans a little bit. He didn’t make much sense earlier, but Mr. Midwest Emo geography teacher is shady. Even if he has nothing to do with the mafia problem, he’s definitely up to something. With Jason here, he can’t do anything about it. And at night, he has to find Batman for a briefing.
”You won’t believe what happened. I got a detention for reading in class,” Jason says, exasperated. “Mr. Ayrton! Gave! Me! A! Detention!”
”Wait, Mr. Who? Who’s that?” Jason raises an eyebrow at Tim’s question.
”What do you mean? The geography teacher? I know you have classes with him too.”
”You mean the maf- Midwest emo guy?” Tim asks. “Didn’t know he had a name.”
”Fuck you mean you didn’t know he had a name?” Jason chuckles. “You don’t like him?” He asks, amused.
”No one does. Besides, what do you mean his surname is Ayrton? Like, staining the name of my idol, my reason to live, the greatest driver of all time, Ayrton Senna?”
”I always forget you like F1 stuff. Do you think the batmobile could compete in a race?” Jason asks. Tim thinks it must be funny to him, ask those things while being ‘the only one’ who knows the truth. It’s like when people talk to Tim about Spiderman. Last week Bernard told him Spiderman lives in the sewers, like… sure, buddy.
”I mean, sure. It wouldn’t win. Unless you put Max Verstappen or Lewis Hamilton inside of it. Maybe Antonelli too.”
”You realize these names mean nothing to me, right?” Jason points out as they walk into the library, Tim smiles a bit.
”Whatever. You were saying you got detention?” Tim asks. “I have class with him next period. Tell me he’s not in a bad mood, pretty please.”
”He’s not in a bad mood,” Jason pauses, picking a book. “He’s in a terrible one. Good luck. Gonna see you at detention. See if you get less than me, I got three days.”
Well, if Tim knew Jason was a future teller, he would’ve asked more important things, like: who’s gonna win the world cup? Are his parents coming to spend his birthday with him? More importantly: is Harley Freaking Quinn gonna invade our school? The answer, surprisingly, is yes. And, yes, Tim got the detention. He’s not so worried about Harley, she’s on rehab path and bla bla bla, she won’t shoot kids. Apparently, she’s here for a… mental health lecture. Sure. Because his life can’t be normal.
Tim notices something. The moment Harley Quinn walked into the room, Mr. Midwest Emo (Tim’s not calling that man Mr. Senna) started acting reeeaaaally weird. Interesting, because Harley also seems very interested in him. He grew up with parents who work together and spend most of the year abroad, he knows how to recognize when there’s hidden tension. Now, Tim has a theory. Mafioso Midwest Emo is evil and Mrs. Quinn is here to… snitch him? Who knows?
The thing is, now his teacher is trying to leave. And Tim can’t let that happen, right? He’s freaking Spiderman, he can skip a mental health lecture and go after a teacher. It’s not like any of his friends will notice. Ives is busy talking with Carrie and Jason is nowhere to be seen. He gets up from his seat and follows his teacher.
Mr. Midwest Emo gets in his empty classroom. He seems panicked. Good. There’s one little small problem now, because he’s pretty sure is hiding guns in his locker. And Tim is here as a civilian, if he gets shot at, he’ll have to go to the hospital. And no one will be picking him up there. So… he should hide. Discreetly, he slides inside the class and hides behind a bookshelf.
His super duper great enhanced spider senses are telling him that he’s not alone with Mr. Midwest Emo, so if it’s not a kidnapped invisible kid, Jason Todd definitely just walked in. He sighs.
”Timmy?” Jason asks, voice hushed. “What are you doing here?”
”I came for… detention.” Tim answers, not really caring to give a good reason, because they’re about to get shot if they don’t shut up.
”That’s just at the end of the school day. You should go back to the lecture.” Tim hums.
”So what are you doing here, genius?”
”I.. I was… going to ask him something super important.” Jason lies, and he seems to recognize it was a terrible lie.
”Good luck talking with his Ak-47.”
”His WHAT?” Jason accidentally speaks way too loud, probably because Tim is a civilian in a classroom with a teacher with guns. But Tim can only think about how they’re majorly fucked up. If they get shot, the least he should do is get in front of Jason.
”Who’s there?” Mr. Mid (he got a nickname for his nickname now) asks. Tim can feel Jason tensing up, preparing to do whatever he has in mind. But before that, Harley Quinn walks into the classroom. Tim pinches himself to check if he’s not delirious.
”Hello, Dr. Doom!” Harley says, cheerfully. Tim just can’t believe this guy stole a Marvel villain name.
”Harley.” He snarls. “Go away.”
”Why, why? You surely shouldn’t be in a school. Nowhere near kids, actually.”
”Because… Because if not I will kill them!” Dr. Midwest Emo grabs Jason by the shirt. Tim’s spider senses made him dodge, but he would hate himself if he let Jason get held hostage by himself, so he goes willingly.
”Let go of the kids, this is my last warning. You don’t want Batman here.” Harley threatens, though she is surely very scared. Does she know Jason is Robin? Probably not.
”This wasn’t how my afternoon was supposed to go.” Jason grumbles.
”I was planning on sleeping.” Tim mutters, which is a lie. He would take a nap in the bathtub, eat a sandwich and try to track the Russian mafia. Luckily, it seems like the mafia came to him. He should open a bottle of champagne in celebration.
”Listen, Quinn, if you let me go, I won’t put a bullet through this kid’s head.” He presses the gun against Tim’s temple. Of course. God must love Tim Drake.
Jason panics. Tim can see the poor boy panicking, but he’s genuinely too annoyed to care. He tunes out of the conversation and when he’s back, they’re in a car. God, this is a full blown kidnapping. Dr. Mid points a gun to Jason.
”You’re the Wayne’s son.” He points to Tim. “And you? Who are you?”
”I’m.. I’m Tim Drake, sir.” Tim tries his most pitiful puppy voice. He’s trying really hard to not roll his eyes. Good job, idiotic villain, kidnap a kid you have no idea who is.
”Like, the stupid bitch Janet Drake’s son? This is such easy money.” Tim blinks. He’s heard people call his parents a lot of things through all those years. Stupid is not one of them. He feels irrationally defensive, then he feels sad, because his mom wouldn’t feel that defensive of him if someone called him stupid. She would tell him that he’d just have to prove to people that he’s not stupid; so that’s what he’s gonna do.
Tim thinks the plan was to kidnap Jason only, since he knows who Jason is. That’s why he put Jason in detention for three days and Tim for two, to gain Jason’s trust and then kidnap him on the last day. Well, Jason is dealing really well with being kidnapped. Probably it’s not his first time, and Bruce would do anything to have Jason again. Tim is kinda more worried about Jason’s reaction when he discovers his parents are most definitely not gonna pay ransom.
Mr. Doom throws them in a dark room. Idiot villain, forgot to blindfold them. Anyway, they’re tied up. Mr. Doom leaves to call someone, so Jason turns to Tim.
”Hey, don’t be scared, okay? In ransom kidnapping, they have to keep us alive.” Jason tells him in that voice Robin uses to comfort victims.
”Come on, Jason. I’m a Gothamite. I know how it works.”
”Worrisome statement to come from a fetus.”
”Shut up.”
Two more guys arrive at the crime scene. Doofus #1 and Doofus #2. But they’re speaking Russian, so that’s another point to the theory that Dr. Emo is actually from the mafia Tim is seeking. Good. He hopes Batman realizes that once he arrives, because Tim can’t exactly investigate that while being tied up.
”How much time til the cops come? Because I really wanted to drop by a Walmart and buy chocolate.” Tim whines a bit. This is boring as hell.
”Not much time, probably. He’s probably calling our parents.” Jason answers. “But I’m sure Commissioner Gordon has chocolates for kidnapped kids.”
”Very comforting.” Tim answers.
Goofus #2 walks into the room, yelling at Tim in Russian. Rude. Tim’s Russian is manageable at best, so, no, he doesn’t understand a single word, but Jason turns to him, kinda terrified.
”What the hell? Your parents haven’t returned the call from the ransom, even though we’re probably in the news right now.” Jason asks, kinda accusingly.
”Oh. Yeah, uhm, they don’t… do hostage calls.”
”What do you mean they don’t do hostage calls? These guys could kill you!”
”That’s why I avoid getting kidnapped!” Before Jason can berate Tim’s parents even more, Doofus #2 hits Tim in the face. It doesn’t actually hurt that much, since he deals with worse as Spiderman, but it kinda hurts his pride. Doofus #2 yells “silence!” in Russian, which is the only thing Tim understood from the whole talk he had with them.
It takes two hours, a lot of made up children games, a lot of gossip, but finally Batman arrives. He’s, obviously, without Robin, and Nightwing suspiciously isn’t here and definitely isn’t in Batman’s suit so Bruce can run in like a very worried father. Commissioner Gordon runs to free Tim and Jason.
”Jason, your father was so worried.” Gordon says at the same time a so worried Brucie Wayne runs in. As much as it looks like a dramatization if you know the man is Batman, Tim knows it’s very truthful. Bruce is worried. Was. Who cares. It makes Tim’s heart ache, but who cares? He tries to distance himself quietly from them, but ends up bumping into “Batman”.
”Woah, kid, where are you going? The medical staff still need to check up on you. Where are your parents? I’m sure they’re worried.” Dick says, unable to keep his worry away. Tim is wondering how people actually think he’s Batman.
”I’m gonna… go outside.” Tim mutters. He doesn’t want to lie and say his parents are here, because they’re very clearly not. Even Mrs. Mac is not free to pick him up now, because it looks to be past 6 pm, when her shift ends.
”What? No, look, I’m sure Mr. Wayne would be happy to wait for your parents with you.” Dick nudges him towards Bruce. Tim just sighs. He can only hope they forget him and let him go home.
”Hello, Tim. Where’s Janet and Jack?” Bruce asks, softly. So softly it almost makes Tim cry. Ridiculous man with his ridiculous love for his kids and caring personality.
”They’re… uh…”
”In Japan.” Jason completes, helpfully.
”Oh.” Bruce says, dumbly. “Your… nanny is around?”
”No night shift.” Jason answers again.
”Thank you, Jason,” Tim glares at the boy. “I’m just gonna take an Uber home, sir.”
”What? No. Look, you can stay in my place. I’m sure your parents will fly back to Gotham immediately when they find out what happened. In the morning, you can go with them.” Bruce offers, with his stupid hand on Tim’s shoulder and stupidly warm voice that makes Tim feel safe at the suggestion, even if he is absolutely not, because he’s already okay. There’s no reason for his parents to come to Gotham if he’s not badly injured or dead.
”Thank you for the offer, Mr. Wayne, but I really like my house.” Tim denies as politely as he can.
”Come on, Timmy! A sleepover!” Jason pleads. That would be awesome, yes, but he has to discuss his new intel in their case with Batman later and if Spiderman disappears the same night Tim Drake is locked in the Wayne Manor, Bruce’s definitely gonna find it out. They don’t call the World’s greatest detective for nothing.
”Maybe another day. I still have to finish the Math quiz.” Tim lies, he finished that thing weeks ago.
”Are you sure? Tim, really—”
”I’ll be good, Jason.” Tim cuts him off, gently.
”Let me drive you home, then, at least.” Bruce offers, patting his shoulder. Is Tim so touch starved that he’ll feel Bruce’s hand there for hours? Yes. Will he dwell on it? Absolutely not. The trick to being happy is easy: ignore what makes you sad. Duh. Or maybe cry while watching happy family movies on Netflix, but Tim will deny that happened.
He should be thankful his folks aren’t around, that would make being Spiderman so much harder. Knowing this fact doesn’t stop the tears from stinging in the back of his eyes and his heart from aching, though.
‧₊˚♪ 𝄞₊˚⊹
The Batcave when Bruce arrives after dropping Tim at his place is absurdly quiet. Dick is the first one to speak.
”Did you seriously let a kid without adult supervision go and spend his night alone after getting kidnapped?” Dick asks, angry.
”He’s not getting kidnapped again, I put trackers on him and have access to his house cameras.” Bruce answers, evenly.
”That’s not the fucking point, Bruce!” Dick yells.
”Master Dick, please refrain from using such words.” Alfred says, from the shadows.
”Sorry, Alfie. But seriously, Bruce, are you not even slightly worried about him?” Dick asks, seeing his father’s face soften a bit.
”He has parents, Dick. And a nanny.”
”It’s not like his parents are around when needed!” Jason shouts, bitter, making his voice known for the first time since Bruce stepped into the cave. “His parents are never here! And his nanny is more of a housekeeper than a caretaker.”
”Jaylad…” Bruce says in a stupidly soft and comprehensive tone. “I know you feel protective over Tim, but you saw what happened when we pushed him slightly today, he retreated completely. You have to be patient.”
”I know, but… what if something happens? I don’t…” Jason trails off. “He’s my friend.”
”I know, Jaylad. We’re gonna keep him safe.” Bruce says, ruffling Jason’s hair.